Burning the Midnight Oil
by Arctimon
Summary: Late nights are not only just for the sleep-deprived and workaholics. They're also prime time for a certain Mexican-Jewish girl to spend some time with her next door neighbor. Just a short little fic to get my bearings again. Isabella/Phineas


_**Disclaimer: **All characters of Phineas and Ferb are the property of Dan Povenmire, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, and Disney Channel._

_Special mention goes to the midnight hour, which I've seen so much in the past few months we might as well make it official on Facebook._

* * *

"You do know it's just a metaphor, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"The whole midnight oil thing?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Isabella tapped the lantern on the windowsill, which was illuminating the room with a soft glow. "I'm pretty sure you didn't have this the last time I was in your room."

"I had the battery operated one. Ferb got me this one for my birthday."

She glanced over at Ferb's empty bed. "Where is he, anyway?"

"In England, visiting his cousins. He won't be back until Monday."

Isabella's eyes went back to Phineas, who was busy sketching something on his mini-easel. There weren't many days that Ferb was away, and as much as she loved Ferb and his company, there was something special about being along with her boy-

She shook her head. Best friend. That's what she meant to say. To her mind.

Nothing crazy at all.

"Almost done with the plans for tomorrow?" Isabella asked, trying desperately to get her brain back on track.

"Just about there," Phineas replied from his bed. "I just need to find out how we're going to be able to get a cow on such short notice."

"...Wait, what?"

"Well, what other animal are we going to use?"

"What indeed." She wasn't paying attention to any sort of animal at the moment. Her input had come an hour earlier, when Phineas had invited her over. Late night visits like this only came once in a blue moon...

She looked over her shoulder at the full moon in the sky. Yep, definitely not blue.

"You know, you didn't have to climb up through the window to get to my room."

"I didn't want to wake anyone up. And I do have my House Climbing patch, after all." Isabella leaned forward from her perch to take a gander at the notebook. "Are we good to go?"

"Yes, we are." Phineas finished his sketch with a flourish. "All we need is the manpower." He turned to his neighbor. "Do you think you can get the girls together tomorrow?"

"Everyone except Katie. She's in Hawaii."

"That'll be more than enough." He continued on with his list of materials, but all Isabella was focused on was how close Phineas' nose was to hers. If she moved just a _little_ closer, she could touch it...

A creak from the hallway brought the kids out of their conversation, one of them very unwillingly.

"What was that?" Phineas asked.

"Don't know. I thought everyone was asleep."

A soft knock came from the opposite side of the door.

"Phineas, what are you doing up at this late hour?"

"Mom!" Phineas whispered.

Isabella's wonderful daydream was interrupted by the thought of his mom walking into Phineas' room and finding both him and her alone. Then it immediately went to other, more racy thoughts, all culminating in the fact that there was no valid excuse she could give to Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher that would explain why she was in her son's room this late at night.

"I gotta go, Phineas," Isabella mumbled. "I'll see you tomorrow."

The redhead turned to give his farewell, but was confused to see Isabella already gone. It was a good thing too, because Linda decided to make her way into the room.

"Phineas, I realize it's summer and all, but you shouldn't really be staying up this late."

"I know, Mom. I couldn't sleep."

"Really?" Linda cast her glance around the room, from Phineas' bed to the lit lantern to the open window.

"It was getting a bit stuffy in here."

His mom giggled. "I don't remember asking you a question." She strode over to the window, looking up at the moon. "Such a lovely night, isn't it?"

It was a very good thing that she didn't look down, because there was a certain Mexican-Jewish girl on the sill, precariously grasping the thin piece of wood with her fingertips.

"I thought I heard you talking to someone in here."

Isabella could hear the air becoming more and more uncomfortable. How air could become that particular adjective was a mystery in itself, one that she didn't have time to think about.

"Just to myself, that's all."

She heard Linda giggle again. "There's plenty of time to talk to yourself when you're older, Phineas." Her footsteps grew more distant. "Please don't stay up too much longer. Finish up whatever you're doing. Good night."

"Night, Mom."

Finally, his door was closed again, and Isabella let out a sigh of relief. She began to relax...

Only to remember that she was currently hanging from a window about ten feet up in the air.

"Phineas?" she whispered up to the open window. "A little help here?"

"Oh, sorry." She felt his hand grasp her wrist. "I didn't realize you were still there."

"Trust me, I wasn't planning on hanging out any longer." Slightly amused by her pun, she took another look down. "I just needed to get my bearings; I think I can make it down from here. Give me a second."

Now that she had herself under control, Isabella was able to traverse down to the lawn, landing with a soft thump. Dusting her skirt off, she waved up to her neighbor. "Thanks for the hand, Phineas. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Technically, now it's just later today," he called from the window. "Here, take this."

Isabella looked up to see something coming down at her. She held out her hand and and the lantern fell into it.

"Just in case you need some warmth tonight."

"Phineas, it's the middle of the summer."

"Then consider it a loan for the night," Phineas said with a grin. "See you later."

"Good night, Phineas."

* * *

All of the way back to her house, Isabella carefully held the lantern in her hands. There was no need for it either for warmth or light, since the street lamps were still on, but she held it close to her chest nonetheless.

"I can't believe he gave it to me," she whispered. "Well, he didn't _give_ it to me, but if I can trick myself into thinking it, I can get away with it."

She opened her front door without any difficult and began to head upstairs. Phineas was the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful person she had ever met. Everything about tonight proved that. Even staving off his mom was something to behold.

Isabella opened the door to her room, lost in her thoughts...

And then she realized her light was on.

"Weird," Isabella thought. "I don't remember leaving my light on."

And then she saw her mom, wearing her bathrobe and sitting on her bed with a very cross look on her face.

Uh oh.

So _that's_ why it was so easy getting back into her house.

"Isa, you have some 'splaining to do."

Isabella glanced down at the lantern, the last of the oil starting to burn up.

And she smiled.

_Totally_ worth it.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Midnight and I have a very intimate relationship. We see each other every day. I entertain her with writing. She keeps me awake. We rely on each other.

...Just so that everyone knows, I'm not actually talking about a real person. ;)

Also, this fic being 1,337 words long is totally by accident.

Soooo...people are probably wondering where I've been this entire time. And that's a very good question.

It's also one I'm not going to answer at 12:00 in the morning.

This is the first fic I've completed in quite a long time. I haven't extensively written anything for the past few months, and regulars here can probably tell from the fic. I'm sort of out of practice with the whole writing thing. I hope you guys still enjoy it.

Tomorrow should be a fun day. I'll see you ladies and gents then. Read and review, if you like.


End file.
